KEEGO HARBOR, MI--(Marketwired - Apr 24, 2014) - Health Enhancement Products, Inc. (OTCBB: HEPI), a Michigan-based biotech firm investigating bioactive compounds extracted from algal cultures, is pleased to announce the kickoff of a large-scale bovine study to gauge the efficacy of its candidate compounds in addressing mastitis, a condition that affects the health of dairy cows and impacts milk production. Mastitis affects up to 10% of the US dairy herd at any given time and is responsible for nearly $3 billion in lost milk production annually. The US dairy herd numbers 9 million, about 3% of the world's entire population of 244 million dairy cows. Mastitis is a global animal health problem.

Contract research organization Dairy Experts, sited in Tulare County, California, will be conducting the study on behalf of the Company. The firm conducts large-scale clinical studies for a variety of institutions, both public and private.

The study is a requirement of an agreement in which Health Enhancement Products, Inc. granted to Zoetis Inc., a global animal health company based in Florham Park, New Jersey, an option for future potential collaboration.

Extensive planning and study design, along with sourcing the study itself, has consumed the better part of eight weeks and culminated in tapping California-based Dairy Experts for the field study. The study is complex and far-reaching. The scale of the study is such that study groups will need to be staggered to accommodate the anticipated logistical demands. Of specific interest and focus is the effect of the Company's bioactives on mycoplasma bovis, an untreatable pathogen that is extremely contagious, irreversible in its pathology and present in dairy herds across the country, with particular concentration in California.

"This is a significant undertaking with a considerable number of factors to control and observe," states Amy Steffek, Ph.D., Health Enhancement Director of Research & Development. "We have three of our research partners involved in a coordinated effort to produce one set of test samples within a complex extraction/purification process, while we work through a parallel synthetic program to render active compounds in sufficient volume for testing."

The Company expects to report a subset of preliminary results in May.

About Dairy Experts

Dairy Experts is a contract research organization sited in California, with a specific focus on clinical research to study efficacy and safety of antibiotics, vaccines, teat dips, hoof baths, feed additives, colostrum replacers and supplements for dairy cows. Dairy Experts also provides contract research services such as protocol development and implementation, research laboratory studies, data management, statistical analyses and reporting.

About Health Enhancement Products, Inc.

Health Enhancement Products, Inc. (OTCBB: HEPI) is a Michigan-based biotech company engaged in the investigation of the health benefits of bioactive compounds derived from its proprietary algal cultures, and the development of natural bioactive compounds for use as dietary supplements and food ingredients, as well as biologics and synthetic candidates for medicinal and pharmaceutical applications in humans and animals, specifically focused on autoimmune modulation.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for any historical information, the matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, including the timing of completion of a trial, actual future clinical trial results being different than the results the company has obtained to date, and the company's ability to secure funding. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that such statements are not guarantees of future performance and those actual results or developments may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or otherwise.